Need Professional Help? Talk to a Lawyer

For most defendants, the principal benefit to plea
bargaining is receiving a lighter sentence for a less severe charge than might
result from a conviction at trial.

Example: Commander O.M. Pyre
is charged with 20 counts of burglary after a spree of burglaries in his
neighborhood. Assistant District Attorney Art Mills offers to drop the charges
to two counts of burglary if Pyre pleads guilty right away. Pyre takes the
deal, because his sentence will be shorter and he will be eligible for parole
earlier than if he were convicted on every charge at trial.

Another fairly obvious benefit that defendants can reap
from plea bargaining is that they can save a bundle on attorneys’ fees,
assuming they are represented by private counsel. It almost always takes a lot
more time and effort to try a case than to negotiate and handle a plea bargain,
so defense counsel typically charge a much higher fee if the case goes to
trial.

There may also be other benefits for defendants who
plead guilty or no contest, such as the following.

Getting out of jail. In-custody defendants who either do not have the right
to bail or cannot afford bail may get out of jail immediately following the
judge’s acceptance of a plea. Depending on the offense, the defendant may get
out altogether or on probation, with or without some community service
obligations. Or, the defendant may have to serve more time, but will still get
out much sooner than if the case had gone to trial.

Benefits of Moving From Jail to Prison

Even if the plea results in the
defendant being moved from jail to prison, even this may occasionally be a
benefit. A move to prison can be a step up if the jail conditions are worse
than prison conditions. And convicts in prison may have privileges that defendants
awaiting trial in jail don’t have. Furthermore, even when defendants go to
prison, there is some intangible benefit to simply having resolution—knowing
how long they will be in, rather than spending what may feel like endless
hours waiting around in jail.

Getting the matter over quickly. This has the intangible benefit, touched on above, of
providing resolution to what is almost always a stressful event (being charged
with a crime). People who are charged with a crime while on vacation, for
example, might opt for a plea bargain in order to get back home sooner. And
defendants with jobs who are charged with minor offenses may prefer to resolve
the case in one court appearance rather than missing work repeatedly. Going to
trial usually requires much more time in court than a plea bargain.

Having fewer and/or less serious
offenses on one’s record. Pleading
guilty or no contest in exchange for a reduction in the number of charges or
the seriousness of the offenses looks a lot better on a defendant’s record than
the convictions that might result following trial. This can be particularly
important if the defendant is convicted in the future. For example, a second
DUI conviction may carry mandatory jail time, but if the first DUI offense had
been bargained down to reckless driving (for example), there may be no jail
time for the second DUI arrest. Even for people who are never rearrested,
getting a charge reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor, or from a felony that
constitutes a strike under a “three strikes” law to one that doesn’t, can be a
critical benefit. Some professional licenses must be forfeited upon conviction
of a felony. Future employers may not want to hire someone previously convicted
of a felony. Felony convictions may be used in certain court proceedings (even
civil cases) to discredit people who testify as witnesses. Felons can’t own or
possess firearms. And in many jurisdictions, felons can’t vote.

Having a less socially stigmatizing
offense on one’s record.
Prosecutors may reduce charges that are perceived as socially offensive to less
offensive charges in exchange for a guilty plea. For example, a prosecutor may
reduce a molestation or rape case to an assault. Conviction of the lesser
charge in this instance may allow the defendant to avoid having to register as
a sex offender for the rest of his life. Also, a lesser offense may lessen the
likelihood that family members and friends
will stigma­tize a defendant. Of more immediate concern, sometimes
defendants convicted of stigmatizing offenses are at a greater risk of being
harmed (or killed) in prison.

Avoiding hassles. Some people plead guilty, especially to minor first
offenses, without hiring a lawyer. If they waited to go to trial, they would
have to find and hire a lawyer, spend at least some time working with the
lawyer to prepare for trial, and pay the lawyer.

Avoiding publicity. Famous people, ordinary people who depend on their
reputation in the community to earn a living, and people who don’t want to
bring further embarrassment to their families all may chose to plead guilty or
no contest to get (and keep) their names out of the paper as quickly as
possible. While news of the plea itself may be public, the news is short-lived
compared to news of a trial. And rarely is a defendant’s background explored in
the course of a plea bargain to the extent it may be done in trial.

Keeping others out of the case. Some defendants plead guilty to take the blame
(sometimes called the “rap”) for someone else, or to end the case quickly so
that others who may be jointly responsible are not investigated.

Avoiding deportation.
Noncitizens who plead
guilty may be deported after they have finished serving their misdemeanor or
felony sentences. Defense lawyers must inform noncitizens that deportation is a
potential consequence of a guilty plea (Padilla v. Kentucky, U.S. Sup.
Ct. 2010). For noncitizens charged with crimes, therefore, pleading guilty to
an offense that reduces the likelihood of deportation is another potential
benefit of plea bargaining.